Lookouts send Smokies home with fourth straight loss

For the second straight night, theTennessee Smokies were stymied by a stellar pitching outing by the Chattanooga Lookouts as they fell by the score of 9-2 at Smokies Park. Tennessee fell to 26-39 on the season in front of 2,845 fans, while Chattanooga improved to 35-30 on the year.

Lookouts starting pitcher Ben Jukich (6-2) was on his game tonight, shutting down the Smokies offense from the early going. He also benefited from the Lookouts offense providing him with an early lead, with the visiting team plating two runs in the first inning. Chattanooga started off the game in a big way off Smokies starter Mitch Atkins (4-6) with a leadoff single by Michael DeJesus, followed by a two-run off the bat of Eric Eymann for a 2-0 lead.

Chattanooga continued to pour on the runs as Jukich kept the Smokies in check. The Lookouts plated three runs in the fourth, one run in both the fifth and sixth, and then two more runs in the eighth to increase their lead to 9-0 through eight innings.

Tennessee finally got to Jukich in the bottom half of the eighth, as Joe Simokaitis led off the inning with a single through the left field side. Matt Matulia then smacked a double down the left field line to move Simokaitis to third, and the Smokies were in business. Wellington Castillo then singled home Simokaitis to put the Smokies on the board for the first time tonight. The Smokies scored another run on Doug Deeds’ sacrifice fly, which was all they would get in the inning.

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